"How is it? What did the old ladies say? Did they scold you?"
As soon as Jia Lian returned to the steward's room, Wang Xifeng came up and asked with concern.
Jia Lian smiled and said: "Old lady, madams are sensible people. After learning about the Shan family's corruption, they were very angry and asked me to deal with it according to the family rules."
The deliberately spread voice made all the housekeepers and stewards around them have no chance to take any chances and lowered their heads one after another.
Jia Lian immediately ordered people to drag down Shan Daliang's family and give him sixty sticks.
After the execution, Jia Lian stood in front of the corridor, facing the house full of male and female servants, and said solemnly: "The Shan family wasted on the kindness of the master, was greedy by nature, stole and defrauded the master's property worth tens of thousands.
He should have been handed over to the government and hanged according to national law.
However, thinking that the Shan family had served their master for many years and still had merit, they decided to give him a lighter sentence.
All the belongings and houses of the Shan family were taken back to the official residence. The Shan family's seven members were sent to Zhuangzi in the north to guard the farmland."
After dismissing the Shan family, Jia Lian continued: "Although the Shan family is the most corrupt, it is definitely not the only one.
The booklet in my hand also contains the names of many people..."
Jia Lian took out a pamphlet from his arms, opened it and read it.
When the servants in the courtyard heard this, their hearts suddenly rose to their throats.
The powerful butler of the Shan family was suddenly thrown into the dust and barely managed to save his life. Learning from the past, the servants present could not allow themselves to be in danger.
Sure enough, I heard Jia Lian say: "You guessed it right, the number one person in this book is Shan Daliang.
Now, his matter has been settled.
Originally, according to my intention, I had to deal with this booklet one by one..."
Everyone in the courtyard quietly held their breath.
"But, I changed my mind and decided to give the people above me a chance.
What's the chance?
After all, many of the people here have been slaves of the family for several lifetimes, and they are somewhat decent. If they were searched like the Shan family, it would be too unkind.
Since ancient times, it has been said that if you confess, you will be lenient and if you resist, you will be strict. Let's play a game today.
The time limit was only half an hour. Everyone in the family, starting from the deacon to the general manager Laida, came to me and filled in a number.
What is this number? It is the total amount of money you have obtained from the government through unfair means, in addition to the legitimate monthly salary, wages, and property rewards given by the master since you became a slave in the government...
"
Hearing what Jia Lian said, everyone was surprised and suspicious.
Wang Xifeng and Qingwen and others who came over to see the excitement were full of curiosity. What was the second master doing? It sounded like fun.
However, for those in charge, the experience is quite different.
By reporting the money you spent on corruption, isn't this just digging your own grave?
Is the second master stupid, or do you think they are stupid?
"You can rest assured that with this number, I can guarantee that no one can know what you have filled in except me. This is also to take care of everyone's dignity. After all, most people will still be doing things at home in the future.
As for the size of the number, you can fill it in yourself. If you fill in one point, I won’t be too little. If you fill in one hundred thousand, I won’t be too much.
As long as the number you fill in is reasonable for me to judge in the end, then not only will you be safe today, but from now on, the government will never hold you accountable for your previous crimes. In other words, no matter how greedy you were in the past,
No matter how much, as long as you keep your integrity from now on, you can always hold the position of steward or housekeeper.
Of course, if you fill it out unreasonably, you may feel embarrassed.
Not every slave has the dignity of Shan Daliang in our family and can be lucky enough to save his life.
All in all, let’s play a game tonight. The rules of the game are as simple as that. I suggest you rather write more than write less. After all, it’s not a sin to write more. If you write less, you can only ask for more.
Blessed.
I wonder if you understand?"
In the courtyard, there was a sudden burst of noise.
The stewards were naturally frightened and looked as if they were bitter gourds. But the "ordinary people" who had no stewards all looked gloating about the misfortune.
A brave one even got into the crowd and shouted loudly: "Second Master has a great reputation, but he just can't spare them. They have been greedy overtly and covertly over the years. They are living a more dignified and generous life than their masters."
, Second Master must not let them go easily..."
Jia Lian looked over and saw him at first glance, so he said: "Wait a minute, you can come and fill in one too."
"Ah?? But Second Master, I'm just a gatekeeper, not in charge of anything..."
Seeing this, the people around him laughed and booed, which added a bit of laughter to this serious scene.
Jia Lian saw a group of housekeepers and deacons slowly approaching Lai Da, seeming to want to discuss countermeasures. Jia Lian didn't care. He just looked at Lai Da and asked with a smile: "I don't know the rules of the game. Did Mr. Lai hear it clearly?"
Lai Da was still a little uneasy, but he didn't feel afraid at all.
From his position, he could see much more clearly than others. He guessed that Jia Lian's move had three meanings.
The first is to deter the rising trend of greed in the family.
Secondly, he also took the opportunity to get some money back... The official silver inventory was decreasing every year, and he knew it very well.
Third, Mr. Lian is establishing his authority.
Now that Mr. Lian is holding a title, he may be eager to tell his family who's words will be most useful in the future...
"Return to the Second Master, I understand."
"It's good if it's clear."
Jia Lian smiled slightly, and then ordered people to move the extra tables away, leaving only one in the middle.
When Wang Xifeng saw that Jia Lian asked all the servants to stay five steps away, she volunteered: "I'll help you grind the servant pen."
In fact, she is also a playful person and finds Jia Lian's money game very interesting and to her liking.
Jia Lian shook his head: "The slaves are under great pressure while you are here, so if you are fine, just go back and take a shower early..."
Even though Jia Lian's final voice was relatively low, Wang Xifeng was still startled. She quickly backed away, glared at Jia Lian, and then covered it up by saying, "That's all, don't look at it if you don't want to, what's so strange about it!"
With that said, he led Ping'er and others away.
"Xiang Ling, you stay here to practice ink."
"yes……"
The formation was set up, and all the ordinary servants retreated voluntarily, leaving their positions for the stewards and deacons.
Jia Lian looked at Liu Chun and others and said with a smile: "Mr. Liu, you are my man, let's start with you."
"yes……"
Liu Chun took a deep breath, walked forward alone, took the brush handed over by Jia Lian, and quickly wrote a number on the white paper...
…
Mengpo Zhai and Jia Zheng had actually known about what was going on in the steward's room for a long time.
Even one of his eldest followers, Shan Daliang's eldest son, came to him early in the morning to beg for mercy.
But he ignored it.
Jia Lian had greeted him in advance, saying that he would deal with a few greedy slaves, and asked him if he would like to go and have a look at the scene.
Jia Zheng is a person who doesn't like trouble, let alone the life and death of his slaves.
A corrupt official's money is just his money. Usually he is too embarrassed to do anything, but since Jia Lian is willing to come out as this evil person, there is nothing wrong with him.
He was even a little happy in his heart, but instead told Jia Lian to pay attention to methods and propriety, and not to make the old lady unhappy...
Although he was unwilling to intervene in such a troublesome and complicated matter, he could not completely ignore the commotion over there.
From time to time, I still send people to find out the news.
When I heard that Jia Lian was free and playing "house" with the slaves in the courtyard, I was speechless.
Yes, I want to see how he wants to manage this family first. If it is good, forget it. If it is not managed well, for example, if there are any mistakes, if I come forward at that time, won't it appear that I am strategizing?
Jia Zheng felt that he was a general now, and no matter how happy Jia Lian was, he was just his vanguard.